[RX135]

About Palio/Petra Fuel Gauge,

• If the ignition is not completely switched off (only engine stopped), the fuel guage will take time to show correct fuel level, typically few minutes.
• If the ignition is switched off completely, the fuel guage shows correct fuel level immediately after switching on ignition. Doesn't take time at all.
• If going downhill, fuel guage shows lesser fuel than actual.
• If going uphill, fuel guage shows more fuel than actual.

Hope, this clarifies most of the doubts/debated points. Punto would probably have inherited this behaviour, which is not incorrect at all in first place.

@faithless, while comparing rear legroom in two cars by pushing front seat behind to the max, it's important to note that travel for front seat may vary from car to car. If the front seat doesn't travel much in one car, it can give perception that it has better rear legroom. (I don't know if this indeed is the case with Punto / i20. Just a thought!)

[Eddy]

+1 to all of the above points. I have seen my swift VDI behave the same way.

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by aqualeo2040

Of course I will.

Concorde.Hosur Road.
I guess I will be doing the PDI & regn tomorrow along with the payment. Most probably will collect the ride on thursday.

Congrats!
You seem to be the first one in TBHP to get the delivery of Punto.

Which colors did Hosor Road showroom have?

[thermalpaste]

DESIGN:
If the i20 looks fresh and chunky, the Punto looks gorgeous and elegant. The jazz looks quite dated in comparison (I'm only comparing the exteriors here ). The Japanese have a habit of being loud and radical in terms of design wheras the Europeans will work quietly to create something that looks extraordinary. Yes, I agree that the bangleized beemers were radical in design, but the beemers look so organic and muscular. The Koreans are doing really well; the i20 is spacious and feels very much European.
I didn't like the interiors of the Punto much probably because I am pampered by the interiors of the linea. I miss the retro dials and the half-door beading is a big disappointment. The Fabia has the best interiors followed by the i20.

SAFETY:
The i20 should be the safest followed by the punto.
The Koreans are catching up in terms of safety -- yes, the i20 is much safer than the jazz even though both score 5 stars in the euroNCAP rating. The Punto's rating is much older and can't be compared directly.

The doors: 3-stage door brakes aren't expensive to manufacture; cars like the swift still use a 2 stage door brake. I always liked the doors on fiats because they close progressively -- even the uno had good door brakes. As somebody mentioned, fiat has deliberately used a half-door beading to save costs. Expect more wind noise, I'm not too sure about this, but I've noticed that wind noise increases significantly at higher speeds if the door beading around the B-pillar is old / worn-out.
Surprisingly most new cars feel safe and well built except for the Swift. I own a swift and it feels quite flimsy in comparison. I'm not saying it's a bad car, but it rattles and squeaks often. Based on my experience with the Getz, it's safe to conclude that the i20 is equally well built or much better -- my friend's 3 year old getz doesn't rattle still.

As GTO rightly mentioned, this car is for people who appreciate the Europeanness of this car -- it may not be as reliable or refined as the Japanese competition, but those who appreciate the feel of this car will love the feedback she gives, the firmness she asserts and the attention she commands with her beauty and warmth.

I'm feeling a bit off weather and shall continue with another post soon.

[arun1100]

I20's stole many hearts away. But after seeing the gorgeous GP, I20 looks like a FROG from far.

If you dont believe me then notice carefully the I20 design from the side next time.

And i also feel that I20(cute looks) is best suited for girls and GP(hot and bold) for boys.

[Crimson]

Just got the price list from BU Bhandari (Pune).

Diesel Emotion Pack (ON ROAD - Individual - PCMC): 676012!

That's just fantastic. I was expecting it to be a shade over 7L.
With the corporate discount and the TATA employee discount it should come to about 6.5L. Thats tremendous VFM.

[amit]

Originally Posted by thermalpaste

The i20 should be the safest followed by the punto.

Euro Ncap results of both cars are good but it's difficult to compare them as the safety ranking system has apparently been changed from giving stars to percentage figures.

Broadly speaking, Punto protects adult occupants (just about) better while i20 does a better job with child and pedestrian protection. The rankings are: (Read it as Punto and then i20)

Adult : 33 and 32.

Child: 35 and 41.

Pedestrian: 19 and 23.

Follow the below links:

Punto Euro Ncap results.

i20 Euro Ncap results.

Both cars euro spec models are equipped with side body and side head airbags. Punto has driver's knee airbag too.

[manish7]

Looks are subjective, but I MHO lookswise I'd rank cars as follows -

(1) Jazz - It's really classy from outside as well as inside. Interior quality is just awesome.

(2) GP - It's good, but probably I had too high hopes after Linea. Linea is drop-dead gorgeous from outside. I wish they had better quality interiors in terms of looks in GP.

(3) i20 - It's better on inside and outside looks are growing on me. It looked great in black when I saw it recently. I somehow don't like Hyundai car looks, from Santro to Verna. i10 is an exception though, it's really a cute small car.

[Su-47]

Originally Posted by faithless_1984

Me and my friend are both 5`11 and for the position in which we felt comfortable the person sitting at the back will definitely get cramped/stuck.

We tried the same thing in the i20 and even after pushing the seat back to the max there was still enough space at the back for a person to sit comfortably.

+1 to your comments.

I did the exact same experiment (me and my bro, both 5'11"), but included Vista and Getz as well:

Punto: Most cramped. At a driving position that is comfortable for me, my bro's knees were touching the seatback and were pushing the fabric in by about a couple of mm. A deal breaker IMHO.

i20: Space of about 4-5cms between his knees and the seatback at a driving position that is comfortable for me. But, the rear-seatback appeared a little upright.

Getz: About the same legroom, but somehow, felt more spacious. Perhaps the seatback inclination is better. Only grouse is slightly lower headroom on the back seat and no adjustable headrest. Not having ABS option on CRDi is a deal-breaker here.

Vista: What a spacious hatch man! Sat in this one just for comparison with Punto and have no intention of making the mistake of buying a Tata again.

Cheers,
Su-47

[GTO]

Roms, that's quite a launch report. Thanks for sharing.

[aqualeo2040]

Originally Posted by SilentEngine

Congrats!
You seem to be the first one in TBHP to get the delivery of Punto.

Which colors did Hosor Road showroom have?

Bad new brother.
Although the car is ready for delivery, the RTO has not given the permission yet.

[greatmana2000]

GTO the pics clicked by you are great .. better than the automags .. LOL .

Regardiing the diesel engine refinement and mileage .. I seriously doubt the lack of performance or the "linear " vs " peakings " or what ever .

I guess anything to do with a engine performance discussion should be done after the engine has been properly run in .. I think the engine would definitely be peppier after 5,000 kms at least .

[Crimson]

Before i get flamed here - I am not stacking up these 2 cars against each other.

Its just that I currently own a Petrol ZEN (The old model, not the Estillo) and I wanted an idea on how the Punto performance would feel in comparison to what I am currently driving. I am sure the Punto would be leagues ahead in terms of handling but what about from an acceleration and performance stand point.

I have never owned a diesel vehicle and the little I have experienced them is in the form of brief test drives. I did TD the Palio MJD a while ago and found the acceleration descent but could not really gauge too well from a VERY short test drive.

Can any one who has owned a Zen and is currently driving a MJD (VISTA / SWIFT / Palio / Punto - based on TD) comment on this?

For me, its quite a big shift to switch to a diesel and though im totally sold on the Punto MJD, I just want to know what to expect (in comparison to a car like the ZEN) in the long term from someone who has owned any of these MJD's for a while now.

[ms001]

Originally Posted by ms001

can someone explain the difference in prices of punto active and punto dynamic

active 4,88,309
dynamic 5,19,315

difference = 31,006 Rs

the only difference i found were
1)central locking
2)rear power windows
3) fabric insert on door
4)light dimming in instrument cluster

Is the price difference of 31K justified for the features mentioned ? or am i missing something here?

can anyone shed some light on this? iam talking about the diesel model

What FIAT has tried to do with the Punto (and the Linea as well) is to keep the starting prices low. Remember, what attracts buyers to the showroom is: "Punto starts at 3.99L". Further up the variants, the prices increases at a higher rate. Hence the huge difference.

Originally Posted by ms001

can anyone shed some light on this? iam talking about the diesel model

BTW, expect a price revision pretty soon. Punto prices are quite low and they wouldn't be able to sustain on these prices for long. 3-4 months is my guess.